The Pennsylvania Provincial Conference, officially the Provincial Conference of Committees of the Province of Pennsylvania, was a
Provincial Congress
The Provincial Congresses were extra-legal legislative bodies established in ten of the Thirteen Colonies early in the American Revolution. Some were referred to as congresses while others used different terms for a similar type body. These bodies ...
held June 18–25, 1776 at
Carpenters' Hall
Carpenters' Hall is the official birthplace of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a key meeting place in the early history of the United States. Carpenters' Hall is located in Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, ...
in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
. The 97 delegates in attendance (out of 103 appointed) involved themselves in issues relating to declaring Pennsylvania's support for
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...
and to planning for a subsequent gathering that would develop Pennsylvania's new
Frame of Government
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these princip ...
. They achieved these objectives by formally:
* Declaring Pennsylvania's independence from the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, thus birthing the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
,
* Mobilizing the
Pennsylvania militia
The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia.
With more than 18,000 pe ...
for the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
Thirteen Colonies
The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Founded in the 17th and 18th centu ...
to declare independence, the conference's actions had a profound impact on American public opinion and facilitated the issuing of the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
shortly afterward by the Continental Congress.
Delegates
Following is a list of those who attended the Pennsylvania Provincial Conference.
From Bedford County:
* David Davidson
* David Espy
* John Piper
From Berks County:
* Mark Bird
* Valentine Eckerd
* Henry Haller
*
Joseph Hiester
Joseph Hiester (November 18, 1752June 10, 1832) was an American politician, who served as the fifth governor of Pennsylvania from 1820 to 1823. He was a member of the Hiester family political dynasty, and was a member of the Democratic-Republic ...
* David Hunter
* Nicholas Lutz
* Jacob Morgan
* Bodo Otto
* Charles Shoemaker
* Benjamin Spiker
From
Bucks County
Bucks County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 646,538, making it the fourth-most populous county in Pennsylvania. Its county seat is Doylestown. The county is named after the English ...
:
* Joseph Hart
* John Kidd
* Benjamin Single
* John Wallace
* Henry Wynkoop
From
Chester County Chester County may refer to:
* Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
* Chester County, South Carolina, United States
* Chester County, Tennessee, United States
* Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West Eng ...
:
* Caleb Davis
* Evan Evans
* William Evans
* Samuel Fairlamb
* Lewis Grono
* Thomas Horkley
* Thomas Levis
* Colonel Hugh Lloyd
* William Montgomery
* John Morton
* Elisha Price
* Richard Reiley
*
Richard Thomas Richard Thomas or Dick Thomas may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Dick Thomas (singer) (1915–2003), American singing cowboy and actor
* Richard Thomas (actor) (born 1951), American actor
* Richard Thomas (author) (born 1967), American ...
From
Cumberland County Cumberland County may refer to:
Australia
* Cumberland County, New South Wales
* the former name of Cumberland Land District, Tasmania, Australia
Canada
*Cumberland County, Nova Scotia
United Kingdom
*Cumberland, historic county
*Cumberla ...
:
* Hugh Alexander
* William Clark
* John M. Clay
* John Colhoon
* John Creigh
* William Elliot
* John Harris
* James M. Lane
* Hugh McCormick
From Lancaster County:
*
William Augustus Atlee
William Augustus Atlee (1735–1793) was a Judge of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and a University of Pennsylvania Trustee 1779-1786.
Atlee was born in Philadelphia, Province of Pennsylvania on July 1, 1735. He later moved to Lancaster County whe ...
* William Brown
* James Cunningham
* Bartram Galbraith
* Andrew Graaf
* David Jenkins
* Lodowick Lowman
* Alexander Lowrey
* John Smiley
From Northampton County:
* David Deshler
* Benjamin Dupue
* Nicholas Depue
* Neigal Gray
* Robert Severs
* John Wetzel
From
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...
:
* Jacob Barge
*
John Bayard
John Bubenheim Bayard (11 August 1738 – 7 January 1807) was a merchant, soldier, and statesman from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He achieved the rank of colonel while serving with the Continental Army, and was a delegate for Pennsylvania t ...
* Joseph Brewster
* Samuel Brewster
* William Coates
* John Cox
* Joseph Dean
*
Sharp Delany
Sharp Delany (c. 1739–1799), was a colonel in the American Revolutionary War a legislator and the first Collector of Customs in Philadelphia, appointed by George Washington.
Biography
Sharp Delany’s place of birth is in dispute. Often state ...
Thomas McKean
Thomas McKean (March 19, 1734June 24, 1817) was an American lawyer, politician, and Founding Father. During the American Revolution, he was a Delaware delegate to the Continental Congress, where he signed the Continental Association, the United ...
Benjamin Rush
Benjamin Rush (April 19, 1813) was a Founding Father of the United States who signed the United States Declaration of Independence, and a civic leader in Philadelphia, where he was a physician, politician, social reformer, humanitarian, educa ...
* George Schloffer
* Jacob Schriner
*
Jonathan Bayard Smith
Jonathan Bayard Smith (February 21, 1742 – June 16, 1812) was an American politician and merchant from Philadelphia who was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Smith served as a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congres ...
From
Philadelphia County
Philadelphia County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the most populous county in Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, Philadelphia County had a population of 1,603,797. The county is the second smallest county in Pennsyl ...
:
* Frederick Antes
* Mathew Brook
*
John Bull
John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...
*
Enoch Edwards Enoch Edwards may refer to:
* Enoch Edwards (trade unionist)
Enoch Edwards (April 1852 – 28 June 1912) was a British trade unionist and politician.
Biography
Edwards was born at Talk-o'-the Hill Staffordshire on 10 April 1852. He was the
...
* Henry Hill
* Robert Lewis
* Robert Loller
* Joseph Mather
From Westmoreland County:
* Edward Cook
* James Perry
From York County:
* Richard M. Chester
* James Egar
* David Kennedy
* Robert McPherson
* William Rankin
* James Read
* Henry Slagle
* James Smith
See also
*
Pennsylvania in the American Revolution
Pennsylvania was the site of many key events associated with the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War. The city of Philadelphia, then capital of the Thirteen Colonies and the largest city in the colonies, was a gathering place for ...